Avoid sensationalism while tracking govt decisions: Javadekar

Media should guard against sensationalism while tracking issues related to government policies and decisions and maintain a 'lakshman rekha', Union Minister Prakash Javadekar today said.
Speaking at an event organised by Press Council of India to mark National Press Day, Javadekar, who till recently was the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, said credibility of the media was at stake because of paid news and it needed to seriously tackle the issue.
"It is important for the media to know the process behind taking any decision on any policy. On what basis has the government or any authority taken a decision is news and it should be tracked. But there should a 'laxman rekha' of that as well," Javadekar said.

He said the media should not act in a way that it "scares" officials from taking decisions for fear of scrutiny.
"There should not be paparazzi in the name of transparency. Officers are scared to take decisions because of this. They say, it will come in the media, then RTI queries, the civil society, then CAG and PIL will follow. Officers should not find it a hurdle, but instead (media should) enable him to do good work. This is what the limitation is," the MoS Environment & Forest and Climate Change said.
"Sense of proportion and the whole context" are two important aspects which should be "behind the laxman rekha" when media tracks an issue, he said.

Referring to paid news, Javadekar said the credibility of the media was at stake because of paid news and newspapers should give a thought to this.

"In paid news, you are trying to ensure victory of one candidate on the first page and ensuring victory of another candidate on the last page. So, this reflects the credibility of the newspaper," he said.
On the issue of cross-media ownership, Javadekar said the debate should be done within the fraternity.
"Whether the medium of information goes in the hands of a cartel because its a responsible part of the whole democratic process... The government may form its opinion later, but there should be debate within the society and also what other countries have done should also be debated.